Wolfy Territory
by Kyandi-Akatensei
Summary: Ranger gets a special case. This case entails them capturing a man named Alabaster Hucatti. But Hucatti wants to take them on a wild chase across states and Ranger and his men find themselves in Dallas, Texas. Ranger expects to get his man but what he doesn't expect is to find his path crossing with a fireball disguised as a snowball. Rated M. Ranger/OC
1. Texas Ranger

_**Summary:**_ Ranger and his Merry Man get a special case. This case entails them capturing a man name Alabaster Hucatti. But Hucatti wants to take them on a wild chase across states and Ranger and his men find themselves in the crime filled allies of Dallas, Texas. Ranger expects to get his man but what he doesn't expect is to find his path crossing with a fireball disguised as a snowball. Rated M. Ranger/OC

Author Note:

Hello everyone, my name is Kyandi. I'm usually found in the Anime/Manga section of the site, and this is kind of breaking out of my comfort zone. So please go easy on me, but if you find some grammar that is wrong please let me know. I edit, but I don't always catch things. I read the books and loved them so here's my attempt at fan fiction for it. Please review and enjoy!

Chapter 1 Texas Ranger

There were many things in this life that Ranger Manoso, was trying to correct. His karma was one of them. At the moment his karma didn't allow him to have anyone too close. Yes there was Stephanie and yes he cared for her in his own way, but he couldn't possibly repeat the screw-up he had gone through with his ex-wife.

He didn't want to force his bad karma on someone else. Stephanie understood this. Besides, in all truth…she had Morelli. The guy was a bit of an idiot but he was a good cop and a good man….despite the stitches Ranger had to get because of him.

Ranger was content enough to let Stephanie choose her own life. He had RangeMan to concentrate on anyhow. And that lead him to where he was now. If there was ever a place as bad as Trenton, it was Dallas. The big difference was where Trenton was made up of mostly Italian families, one could find just about every type of people in Dallas.

But truthfully, it had more people of African American decent or Latino decent. But just being in Dallas for half a day Ranger had seen someone from every walk of life and every kind of heritage. Some were great, really helpful and kind, others…well were just plain rude and awful. But Ranger was use to that. You grew up tough in Trenton.

When Ranger had first taken the assignment he hadn't known he and his men would end up in Texas of all places. The job? He had to track down and capture a crime lord by the name Alabaster Hucatti. He was originally from Trenton but when he had found out a contract had been put out on him and that the one that had taken up the call was Ranger himself, Hucatti had fled.

The chase lead him to Dallas, Texas. Talk about being a real Texas Ranger. Okay so it was silly but that was how Ranger felt standing somewhere in downtown Dallas just off Greenville Avenue. Hucatti had last been seen in Dallas and the man shouldn't be all that hard to find. He was of Italian decent, thinning black hair, narrow black eyes, and olive skin.

He was five, four in height and had a port belly to put shame to all port bellies. To set it all off the man had a horrible scar that ran the length of the right side of his face. Some old wound that had almost taken the man's eye out, though his sight in that eye was little to none.

Honestly though the man worked on short legs with too much junk in the trunk and no sight on his right side. It was hard to move too fast. But after Hucatti rented a car he had vanished. Ranger really wasn't liking this at all. If he had a car then that meant he planned to stay in Texas. Hopefully in the Dallas/Forth Worth area.

So they tried with the next best thing. Hucatti was known to roll with local gangsters and prostitutes. So the neck best thing to do was to question the locals about the man. See if any of them had seen him. That brought Ranger to a corner of Greenville Avenue. Tank and Hal stood behind him, keeping an eye on his back as well as their car.

The two gangsters Ranger had called out to talk to were the typical, everyday thief and drug pushers. One was Latino, the other Caucasian. Both wore pants about two sizes too big and that hung nearly to their knees. How they walked around like that was beyond Ranger. Running had to be impossible. Then again if their lives depended on it, Ranger was sure they would have an easy choice between saving their lives or keeping their pants up.

"I'm looking for a man. Short, Italian, scar down the right side of his face. His name is Alabaster Hucatti." Ranger said. "Man, we ain't seen no one like that." the white male replied while his friend eyed the black car behind Tank and Hal.

"Dude, you tryin' to get robbed or somethin'. That car's gonna get you shanked out here." the other said rising his chin in a gesture towards the car. Ranger looked over his shoulder at the car. Back in Trenton everybody knew him and everybody knew what cars he drove. No one ever messed with his cars because no one wanted to deal with the results which always brought them face-to-face with Ranger. In Dallas it was different though.

"I'm not worried." he replied turning back to the two. "Man, you must have some balls or somethin' cause ain't nobody ever drove around these parts in cars like that and come out with their money and anything else worth a shit." the white one said. "I doubt anyone will mess with our cars." Ranger replied. He didn't even know why he was having this conversation.

"The dude must think he's De'Zane or somethin'." the Latino man said with a huff. Ranger's eyes narrowed. "Who's De'Zane?" he asked. Both men let out snorts and howls of laughter. "You defiantly ain't from around here, man, if you don't know De'Zane." the white man said.

"De'Zane's the most kick ass person there is around here. Ain't no one mess with De'Zane. Likely to get a broken nose and other broken bones for their troubles, ya feel me?" he added. So this De'Zane guy was the type of person that didn't take other people's shit. Ranger gave the two a nod and returned to his men.

"It seems either no one has seen him, or no one is talking." Ranger remarked as he looked around. Several people walking on the streets glanced their way. They knew without the cars and the matching black attire, that the three men were not from Dallas.

Ranger got the feeling that everyone of them were watching, holding their breaths and waiting for them to leave. "Lets try another part of town." Ranger said before moving to his Porsche. He had a feeling the sooner they were out of there, the sooner the people around them would be happy.

-0-0-0-0-

Ranger's next stop found him across town. He had heard a rumor that Hucatti had been spotting there after renting his car, talking to a couple of local whores. Ranger found the two on their corner. The moment he parked and stepped out of the car, grins lit the two's faces. One of the woman was tall, white, with shocking pink hair, and a dress way to short.

The other was plumper, though not big, Asian, and wearing black spotted white matching skirt and tube top. "Hey there, Hot Cakes. You here to play?" the white woman asked. "Not really. I heard a rumor that you two ladies were approached by an Italian man with a scar on the right side of his face." Ranger replied.

The two looked at each other and made face. "Yeah, real weirdo. If anyone could pull off weird it was him." the Asian girl said. "Do you two happened to know where he went?" Ranger asked with a smile at them. The two swooned for a second before looking at each other again. "Why do you want to know?" the white woman asked.

"He's an old friend. I've been trying to met up with him, and keep missing him." Ranger supplied, lying easily. The two frowned at each other but neither seemed to believe or disbelieve what he had said. "No clue." the white woman finally said with a shrug. Ranger was starting to think that people in Dallas were even more tight lipped then people in Trenton.

"You can try askin' De'Zane though." the Asian woman said. There was that name again. "Yeah! De'Zane knows everything that goes on and everyone that comes in and out of Dallas." the white woman said with grin. It was worth a try. Whoever this De'Zane guy was he was bound to be more helpful then trying to talk to these close lipped people on the streets. Or maybe not. It didn't hurt to try though.

"Where can I find this De'Zane person?" Ranger asked. "Usually hangs out off Park Lane. There's a big fancy art school over there and a little plaza. Right off the LBJ." the Asian woman said. Ranger nodded to them. "Thank you ladies." he said as he turned to get back into his car. "Come back if you want to have some fun, Stud." the white woman called as he slid behind his wheel. That was defiantly, not going to happen.

Once he was off he called Tank up on the speaker phone. "Yes?" Tank asked. "I need to know about a De'Zane that hangs out off of Park Lane by some art school just off the LBJ." Ranger told him. "On it." Tank said before disconnecting. Hopefully Tank could turn up something and Ranger wouldn't be going in blind. Though if he had to, he had to.

Just to get a scope of the place, Ranger went ahead and drove over there. Park Lane was a busy street intersecting the freeway. Right off the freeway, to the left was a tall building with the words _**Art Institute of Dallas**_ in big bold letters on it. That must be the art school. He found the plaza very easily just down a small two lane road that ran in front of the school, parallel to the freeway.

Ranger parked and watched the people walking around from inside his car. When Tank called back Ranger didn't get the results he wanted. "I can't find anything on anyone with the name De'Zane." Tank said and Ranger could just hear the silent apology.

"Got it. You and Hal get over here in case I need back up." Ranger replied before hanging up. Fifteen minutes later, Tank and Hal pulled up beside him. The three got out and headed across the plaza. There were several people coming and going, half of them not even paying the three men attention. Just down the sidewalk a couple of punks were staked out in front of a store, sodas and bags of chips in hand. Ranger decided to start with them. If De'Zane was so well known, these kids would know where to find him.

All of them stopped talking the moment he walked up and all of them turned their eyes on him instantly. "I'm looking for a De'Zane. Any of you hear that name before?" Ranger asked. One of the boys snorted. "Dude, everyone whose lived in this area for more then a month, knows that name. Even kids and big business men." he told him.

"Can you tell me where I can find this De'Zane?" Ranger asked. "Depends. Since we haven't seen De'Zane today, there's a chance De'Zane is going to be down a block from here, handling business." one girl said. "Business?" Ranger asked raising an eyebrow.

"There's a school near here. Lot of weirdos and gangsters like to try to mug and beat the students like us. De'Zane keeps them in line so we can go to school and not worry about getting our heads bashed in when we leave." another boy said.

Ranger nodded. Sounded like a neighborhood kind of person. "Which way would I go to talk to this De'Zane?" Ranger asked. "Down that street there. About a block down in an warehouse. That's where all the gangsters and everything gather when De'Zane's got business to settle." the first boy said pointing to a street that ran between two buildings.

Ranger nodded before heading off, Tank and Hal following him. The street was empty and it was possibly the longest block Ranger had ever walked. But when he could see the warehouse rising a bit ahead of him, he heard the clear distinct sounds of a fight. He looked at Tank and Hal, both of who pulled their guns before they followed him down the street at a faster pace.

When they reached the end of the street an open yard that wrapped around the warehouse, opened to their left. Before Ranger could get near it a man went flying past, stumbled, and crashed into a dumpster on the other side of the street. He slid to the ground and didn't get up. He had clearly knocked himself out cold. Ranger moved to the fence opening and peeked inside.

Beyond the fence a few trashed cars lined the lot but the center was worn down dirt, no grass. There in the middle of the lot, stood a young girl, well really a young woman. She had to be at least seventeen. She was about five and a half feet tall, slim with a lithe frame, and curves a super model would have killed for. Ranger couldn't place her heritage but he was thinking around Italian or Russian. It was hard to tell.

Her skin wasn't the olive color most Italian people had. It was a more of a dusty tan kind of look. Her features were high and curved down in gentle slopes. Her nose was small and delicate, her lips full and pink. She had a bit of a stubborn chin but that only made her more beautiful in her own way. What really threw him for a loop was her hair.

Her hair was thick, glossy, fell to her butt, and was white as snow. She had it pulled into a pony tail high on her head, with just bangs to sweep across her forehead and frame her face. It had to be natural because even her thin, arched brows and long lashes, were white as snow. Then there was her eyes. From where he stood, they looked black to Ranger, but the softness of the white lashes made them shine.

She was decked out in jean shorts, a halter top with a bomber jacket over it, biker mitts, and combat boots. All in black. Ranger could see a large hunting knife sticking out of her left boot and there was defiantly two guns on her belt. She was armed and clearly had no intention of using her weapons.

She stood in the middle of a ring of pissed off men, all looking like they were about to beat her with-in an inch of her life, but she didn't look fazed in the least. She stood there, feet planted shoulder length apart, her arms hanging loosely at her sides. One man decided to try his luck and charged her from behind. The girl whipped around and brought her right foot up to smash her heel into his nose. Ranger would have winced if he hadn't been professional. She had clearly broken the man's nose.

This urged the others into attacking her. One by one each of them went down as she unarmed them of whatever makeshift weapon they had and then broke a bone in their body. Usually it was the nose or jaw but there were a few that she snapped their fingers with ease. On one person she snapped the arm, though that seemed to be harder for the small girl. The girl had clearly grown up fighting.

She moved smoothly and didn't bother aiming below the belt. She didn't need to. Ranger signaled for Tank and Hal to put their guns away and he leaned against the fence to watch her as she dropped the last of her assailants. With that she stepped over them and headed for the fence, but she stopped when her eyes landed on Ranger.

She was only a few feet away now and this close Ranger could tell that her eyes weren't black, but gray. She blinked slowly, studying him. "Can I help you?" she asked. She carried a slight accent but it was too faint for Ranger to place. "I was looking for someone and happened to hear the fight. You fight well for a kid." Ranger said.

He watched her thin brows rise. "Kid? Just how old do you think I am?" she asked. Ranger shrugged. "Sixteen, seventeen." he said. He watched her shake her head. "Older or younger?" he asked. She turned her thumb up. Okay so she was older. "Nineteen?" he asked. Another thumb up. "Twenty?" he asked.

Another thumb up. There was no possible way this girl was drinking age. "Twenty-one?" he asked. "Will be twenty-two in January." she replied with a nod. "You don't look it." Ranger remarked. "Never have." she replied with a shrug.

"Perhaps you can help me while you're here." Ranger said looking around at the men on the ground. "Perhaps." she agreed. "I'm looking for someone called De'Zane. Was told I could find him here." Ranger said. There was a snort that drew his attention from the men to her. Her face was still blank but he was certain the snort had come from her.

"De'Zane's not that easy to find. If you want something you'll have to try harder in your search." she told him stepping over the last few men to leave the yard. "You work with De'Zane?" Ranger asked. "Sort of." she replied. "Then you can tell me where to find him." Ranger added. Another snort. "Something funny?" he asked as she drew even with him.

She waved him off. "Not at all. If you want to continue searching all over for De'Zane, knock yourselves out. You'll be cursing the day you heard the name De'Zane, but the time you finish whatever business you have with De'Zane. Warning to the wise." she told him patting him on the shoulder as she moved past him.

"Oh, another warning to the wise…you might want to get out of here before they wake up. They won't be too happy." she added over her shoulder. "You never answered my question about De'Zane." Ranger called to her. "Kiss my ass. How's that for an answer?" she replied over her shoulder with a grin tugging her lips up.

With that she gave him a wave over her shoulder and took off down the alley, her hands jammed into her pockets. Ranger stared after her. She was…interesting. A fireball that was for sure. He hadn't really heard a woman talk like that to him in a while. It was refreshing. But it didn't put him any closer to his goal. Now he would have to start over from square one again. It wasn't an appealing idea but it was one he was going to have to deal with.

END

Author Note:

I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I will have the next one up soon. Please review if you liked or if you saw something that needs fixing. But please be polite. I hope you all enjoy and, as I said, I will have the next chapter up soon. Bye!


	2. Robin Hood

Author Note:

Hello everyone, I am back with a new chapter. I usually have a strict rule about not updating until I've gotten at least two reviews but I'm hoping by post this I'm might catch more attention. So here's the second chapter. Please review and enjoy! I do not own Any of the Stephanie Plum novels.

Chapter 2 Robin Hood

The day had turned up no leads and when Ranger woke up the next morning the first thing he thought of was the girl…woman, that he had met in the warehouse yard. In some ways she reminded him on Stephanie. In others she was uniquely herself.

Most women commented on his good looks or even melted when he smiled at them. This one told him to kiss her ass. Texas women were…unique that was for sure. But something told him she wasn't Texan. She may live in Texas but she didn't have the feel or the look of a Texas gal. Not only that, he was pretty sure the accent she had wasn't even American. Or even anything relating back to same hemisphere as America.

Ranger got up and got dressed in his usual RangeMan black before meeting his men in the lobby of their hotel. They would get breakfast before they headed out in search of Hucatti and maybe, if they could get someone to talk, this De'Zane person. They all settled for a place called Cheddar's off Greenville Ave.

It promised to have some good food and they might be able to pick up some leads from the staff while they were there. The place was mildly empty, considering it was almost nine-thirty by the time Ranger and his men reached it. Most people in the area were either at work or too broke to eat at the place. It was a decent place and the smell of food when they walked in was good.

Now some say that when a person thinks of another person a lot its kind of like calling out to them and they usually manage to pop up out of nowhere. Its like summoning them to wherever the other person whose thinking about them, is. Ranger had been thinking of the white haired woman all morning, wondering just what she had been doing in that warehouse yard, and what do you know?

Take a wild guess in the dark. No idea? Well when the waiter took them to a private section of the restaurant there she was, sitting in a booth with a plate of untouched food in front of her and a file open in her hands. She was reading through the file, her legs crossed and cup of coffee in one hand.

Today she had her hair pulled over her right shoulder and tied just under her ear. She was in all black again and still wore the bomber jacket but today she was wearing cargo pants with a strapless top over it and had traded out the combat boots for a pair of wedge heeled, calf high boots with the legs of the cargo pants, neatly tucked in.

She had a feather dangling from each ear lobe and there were a pair of dog tags around her neck. Even from across the room, Ranger could still see the knife in her boot. They had really let her in with a knife in her boot? What was the world coming too? Then again…Ranger and his men were all carrying concealed guns so what was the difference?

When Ranger stopped, Tank turned to look. "Isn't that the woman from the warehouse yard yesterday?" Hal asked as the others turned to look. "It is." Ranger replied before heading her way. The waiter didn't try to stop him as he came to a stop in front of the table. The woman looked up at him over the file.

"Well look what we have here, Robin Hood and his Merry Men." she remarked snapping the file close and slipping it into a bag at her feet. She leaned back to look at him. "Breakfast time in the hood?" she asked. Ranger felt his lips tweak in the beginnings of a smile. "Something like that. Didn't expect to see you here?" he said. A small smile graced her lips. "Cheddar's is a good place. If you get here at the right time, you miss the traffic and get great food." she replied.

Then she gestured to the wide booth she set in. It was one of those large, semi-circle booths that families of eight or nine could fit comfortably in. "Have a seat. You're men behind you look hungry." she said looking past him to the others. Ranger slid in beside her and Tank and Hal on the other side. The others choose another table near them.

The three men at her table gave their orders before Ranger turned to her as she forked some ham into her mouth then washed it down with a sip of coffee. "You never answered my question yesterday." Ranger said. "Hm! Actually if you remember I did. I told you to kiss my ass if I remember correctly." she replied sitting the cup down. Ranger caught the grin curving Hal's lips.

"Besides, you're not really looking for De'Zane are you?" she asked looking at Ranger out of the corner of her eye. "What makes you say that?" Ranger asked. "No one from out of the greater Dallas/Forth Worth area, who looks and talks Jersey, comes looking for De'Zane unless they want something. Believe me, Robin Hood, you don't have anything De'Zane wants." she replied.

Ranger looked down at himself. "I look Jersey?" he asked. Another small smile curved her lips. "You look Latino. I'm guessing Cuban American. Second generation?" she replied. Ranger's eyebrows shot up. "That's correct. What about you?" he asked. "Wouldn't you like to know." she replied. Just then the food arrived.

Ranger watched her as the waiter laid out their food. He still knew next to nothing about her, but she had guessed quite a bit about him. It didn't sit right with him but she seemed determined not to give anything away to the strangers around her. That was fine. He could work with that. If he could just get her name then he didn't have to ask her about anything else. He could find out on his own. "Who is this De'Zane, since you seem to know." Ranger asked.

"That depends." she replied, idly as she stopped a waiter to refill her coffee cup. Apparently she drank it black. Ranger's kind of woman. "On?" Ranger asked. "What do _**you**_ want De'Zane to be?" she replied looking straight at him. Ranger shot her a questioning look as he took a sip of his own coffee. It was good coffee as far as coffee went.

"De'Zane works multiple jobs, has several talents. None are in the same field as the last. Really diverse, you know. So the question is…who do _**you**_ want De'Zane to be?" she explained with a shrug. She forked another piece of ham and then some scramble eggs into her mouth.

"I need information to find someone and I was told De'Zane could help." Ranger told her. He watched as she leaned back. "So you need an informant and possibly a guide or hacker. Someone who can get into the systems in the city and locate someone. De'Zane can do that. But you look like a capable man, yourself, Robin Hood. De'Zane might not be inclined to help…if you ever manage to find De'Zane that is." she said.

Ranger watched her as she ate. He had noticed that no one said 'he' or 'she' or 'his' or 'hers' when speaking about this mystery person, De'Zane. They all said De'Zane as if afraid to give the person a gender.

"Is De'Zane a man or woman?" Ranger asked. Another small smile. "My, my, aren't you full of questions. Why don't you find De'Zane and find out." she said. To Ranger it sounded like a challenge. "You don't answer many question." he stated. She looked up at him then her eyes locking on his.

"When you grow up around here or in my walk of life, answering the wrong questions is likely to get you and everyone involved, killed. But the way I see it you'll manage that on your own." she added turning back to her food. "How so?" Ranger asked amused by that comment. So far, no one who has tried to kill him had succeeded. "Look at you and your men here. You all wear the same kind of clothes and from what I've heard you all drive pretty much the same kind of cars. And yes, word has already spread about you and your Merry Men. Around here people see that as a new gang pushing their way in." she replied.

"New people on the block like that…get killed. Invasion is not something people around here take lightly." she added. She sat her fork down and leaned back to look at him. "If you're going to continue to snoop around the least you could do is change your attire. And possible your cars. And traveling in packs doesn't help either." she added.

Ranger looked at Hal and Tank then back at her. "Nobody messes with you and you wear all black like we do." he remarked. There was that small smile again. "Nobody messes with me because one, unlike you, I have a reputation around here. I've been nicknamed the Jawbreaker for the results people get when they fight me." she told him.

"For two, I have the protection of the name De'Zane over my head. You don't." she added. She made a good point. In Jersey he had a reputation and no one messed with that or anything associated with his name. This girl had similar protection there in Dallas. But there was something he couldn't help pressing at.

"Jawbreaker?" he asked his lips twitching with a smile being held back. She looked up at him. "Do you want to find out for yourself? I guarantee you won't be able to eat for a few weeks." she told him. At this she got a full blown smile. "That takes all the fun out of it." he replied. Her eyes flashed to him as she lift her cup to her mouth. "Gutter head." she remarked and the smile on his face got bigger. What? He hadn't meant _**that**_ kind of eat. Honest.

-0-0-0-0-

When Ranger left Cheddar's with his men he realized he had forgotten to ask her, her name. He turned around to go back to ask her when she walked out, bag in hand and headed towards the end of the parking lot. Ranger followed her and caught her at her car. She wanted to talk about his Porsche? She drove a black Jaguar.

She was just dropped her bag in her passenger seat when he leaned on her hood. She look up at him as she slid behind the wheel. "Something else you need, Robin Hood?" she asked. "Ranger." he told her. Her eyebrow raised. "Call me Ranger. You are?" he asked. A grin curved her lips up. "I have many names, Ranger. Jawbreaker, Wolf, and several others." she replied. Ranger raised an eyebrow at her and she gave a small laugh.

"Just call me Le." she replied. Le? That couldn't possibly be her full first name. "What's that short for?" he asked. She grinned as she put a pair of sunglasses on. "Stay alive and out of trouble and I might tell you." she replied before starting her car. Ranger stepped back from the car and watched her drive out of the lot. Ranger made his way back to his men lost in a bit of thought. "You get her name?" Tank asked. "All she told me was, Le." Ranger replied. "Don't sound like a girl's name." Hal remarked. True but Ranger wasn't going to repeat the rest of what she said. No he would keep that to himself.

END

Author Note:

I really am trying to get a feel for Ranger here, but if he's a bit out of character I apologize. Jeez, I apologize a lot. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the story. And please review if you do like it. How am I suppose to know people like it if you don't tell me so?


	3. The Bar Scene

Author Note:

Well I got a good review and I'm happy about that. I'll take what I can get since this is my first time trying to break away from the Anime/Manga section. So I'm going to go ahead and put up the third chapter since I finished it. So please enjoy and review. I do not own anything or anyone in the Stephanie Plum novels.

Chapter 3 The Bar Scene

The rest of the day Ranger and his men took Le's advice. Ranger stuck to his black clothes and Porsche but was now wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a jacket to match. Though Ranger had told the others to exchange for something less similar he didn't expect Hal to pull up in the parking lot the hotel in a bright red Pathfinder.

Next thing he was going to have to be more detailed in his instructions, because apparently some people don't know when something is too much. By the end of the day most of them were working in jeans and less people turned to stare at them when they walked down the street. So Le knew what she was talking about.

That night for dinner they all met at a bar and grill across Park Lane from the school. It was a nice place and unlike most bars, the inside was brightly lit. The place was empty for a Friday night but Ranger didn't mind. Less of a crowd. In fact, when he walked in he instantly picked out a head of white at the bar.

Le was sitting at the bar, a drink in hand, talking to the bartender who gave her a smile and a pat on the arm before walking off to see to another customer at the other end of the bar. Ranger left the others to do as they pleased and slid onto the barstool next to her.

Le looked up, swirling her clear drink around in its glass. Ranger guessed it must be Vodka. It could be whiskey too but Ranger didn't smell the strong scent that usually went with whiskey. When she looked at him as he settled into his seat, she shook her head. "I'm starting to think you're following me, Mr. Ranger." she said before taking a drink of her drink.

He could see how she might come to that conclusion. After all this was the third time in two days that he had run into her. But then again, if he wanted to be a smart-ass he could say that she was following him. But he suppose it was first come first sever and she seemed to always be there first.

"No. This just happened to be the closest place for dinner." he replied. He looked down at the drink in her hand. She didn't sound or act drunk. He had no way of telling how long she had been sitting there and drinking and he hadn't seen her Jaguar when he pulled into the parking lot.

"What are you drinking?" he asked. "Water." she replied. Ranger's eyebrow shot up before he grabbed her hand. Le's eyes went to him as he tipped her glass towards him and took a drink from her glass. The whole time his eyes stayed on hers.

"That's Vodka." he replied as the burn of the liquor settled in his throat. He pulled the glass away from his lips watching her face. "I know. Vodka is Russian for water." she replied waiting for him to release her hand. So she was being a smart ass. Ranger's attention turned to her hand.

Her hand was small, easily dwarfed by his. Her skin was smooth but Ranger could feel the slightly raised skin of a scar running across the back of her hand just under the pads of his fingers. He took the glass from her hand, sat in on the bar in front of them, and turned her hand over to look at the back her hand.

A long jagged scar ran across the back of her hand starting at the third knuckle of her pointer finger and running across the back of her hand to the wrist on the opposite side. It was wide and dark. The original wound had to be awful to cause a scar like that. Either that or the stitch job was horrible.

Or both. One could never tell. But he could tell that it was defiantly old. It have been there for a while. Months, maybe even years. It didn't have the puckering red or pink skin around it that suggested that it was still fairly new.

"Ugly isn't it?" she asked. Ranger glanced up at her as she leaned on the bar. "It's one hell of a scar." he replied. "Yeah, well life's hard for some people." she remarked with a shrug. "Believe me, I have more." she added.

Ranger pushed up the sleeve of her jacket and found another scar running up her arm from just below her elbow to vanish somewhere under the sleeve. It took was dark and thick. Whatever had caused it hadn't been kind to her skin.

He couldn't push the sleeve high enough to find the end of it. "Fight?" he asked. Usually he wouldn't pry like this but he found her purely fascinating. "Sort of." she replied. He looked at her face as she finished off her drink.

"If you keeping tossing those back like that you'll end up falling off your seat." he told her. "Not likely. There's stuff stronger then this where I come from and I'm no lightweight when it comes to my liquor. My teenage years were not kind to me." she replied before looking down at his grip on her arm.

He was still holding it. "If you're done looking, could you please release my arm?" she asked. Ranger let go and turned to the bartender as he returned to fill Le's cup. He sat the bottle behind the counter and Le didn't ask for him to leave it out. She was probably going to leave soon and had just stopped by for a few drinks on her way home.

The bartender then turned to Ranger asking him what he would like to drink. Ranger asked for simply just water. "American water, not Russian." he added. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the smile that curved Le's lips. "You've been listening to Miss Le. That could get you some trouble." the bartender said playfully with a smile before turning to go get a glass of water.

Miss? So she wasn't married. She certainly didn't act like a married woman. Ranger looked at her left hand. No ring. "Miss?" Ranger asked. "I'm twenty-one. Marriage isn't on the top of my list." she replied with a shrug as if she had read his mind.

"No man in your life?" he asked excepting his cup from the bartender. There was a snort from Le. "What? Are you interested?" she asked looking at him. Ranger looked at her out of the side of his eyes and gave her a soft, very sexy smile.

It was that, that usually made Stephanie weak kneed but Le barely bat an eyelash at it. It was like the girl was immune to any kind of sexuality there was. "Maybe." he replied in a tone that made lesser women squirm in their seat. Le was obviously not a lesser woman for she didn't bat an eyelash.

Le shook her head instead. "No there isn't. Nor has there ever been. I've been firmly married to my job. In my line of work you start working young and work most of your life away. If you're luck you have time for a family but its not wise. Families make it hard to concentrate and karma's already a bitch without adding men issues onto it. Not to mention that I'm pretty sure I'd suck at being a mother. How my mother managed me was beyond me." she told him turning back to her glass. Wise woman.

Ranger watched her out of the side of his eyes. Her karma sounded worst then his so he could understand her reasoning. He had tried the wife and kid thing and it had all blown up in his face. She was wise not to try it at all. Instead she threw herself completely into her work and left no time for companionship.

He imagined she enjoyed the time to just sit there and talk to someone else for once. "What do you do for a living?" he asked. Le shrugged. "Information mostly. Bounty hunter too. In Dallas you can snag some pretty high bounties." she told him. That explained why she carried guns.

"You were a bounty hunter weren't you? That or military." she said looking at him. Ranger looked at her questioningly. "You give off that feeling. That and guys don't usually stay in the shape you're in by sitting around all day." she explained. Ranger smiled.

"By the way, you're guys are staring at us." she added. Ranger spun in his seat, catching Hal and a few others staring. All of them instantly turned around and went back to the food they had ordered when they met his glare. None of them would chance any hell from him. He turned back around to find Le repressing laughter.

"What?" he asked. "This is what you get for working with nothing but males. Don't you ever consider hiring females?" she asked. "You figure out a lot by observing." he remarked. How else could she know he was the boss.

"No actually I knew you were the boss because I heard one of them call you boss." she replied. Ranger shook his head. Leave it to something like that. He really didn't know what to expect from this woman and she kept him on his toes. In some ways they were the same. In others she was completely over his head and beyond him. He had a feeling no man would be able to hold on to her even if she tried to let them in.

"If I could find females qualified for the position, I'd hire them." he remarked. "Rare in your town?" she asked. Ranger nodded. "Hard to find good help now-a-days." she replied shaking her head. Ranger agreed. Just then her eyes went past him. In a flash she was on her feet, putting a twenty on the bar.

She grabbed her bag from the stool next to her and slung it over her shoulder. "Excuse me but I have to go. Thanks for the drinks, Chris." she told Ranger and then turned to the bartender. The bartender, Chris nodded but she was already heading for the door faster then any woman wearing heeled boots should be able to move.

The again he had seen Lula run for her life in spike heels four, some times five inches tall, screaming her head off with boob going one way and butt the other. But there was a difference between Lula and Le. Lula was an ex-hooker and they were known for running around in heels, and Le was a bounty hunter.

An image of Stephanie running in heels and tackling an FTA popped into his head at that moment. There were plenty of time she had taken down FTAs with heels on. Okay so female bounty hunters could do it too. Must be a female thing then.

Ranger looked up to see what had caused Le to rush off and looked up just in time to catch sight of Hucatti bolting for the door as fast as his short legs would carry him. Le followed him out, definitely faster then the short Italian man.

She was close on his heels as he barreled out of the door and into the parking lot. Ranger was out of his seat in an instant for two reasons. One was because that was his target, and two because Hucatti was known for slicing up pretty young woman. The man was a nut case and Le was too close for comfort. When he flew for the door, his guys were right behind him.

When Ranger stepped out the door Hucatti peeled down the street, clipping another car as he passed, in an old Ford Escort and Le was nowhere to be seen. "What just happened?" Hal asked. That was what Ranger wanted to know. He had no way of contacting Le to find out if she was alright.

At least he knew Hucatti was still in the area and clearly not driving the car he rented anymore either. Ranger had to find a new angle to work from. His gaze drifted across Park Lane towards the plaza. "I'll be back in a few minutes." he told the others before sliding into his car. He drove over to the plaza and parked. The group of student were where they had been yesterday.

Ranger strolled up to them and they instantly looked up at him. "Let me guess, man, you didn't find De'Zane?" the lead boy asked. Ranger shook his head. "You followed our instructions?" the girl asked leaning back to look up at him. Ranger nodded.

"All I found was a bunch of thugs attacking a young woman with white hair." he told them. All of the kids looked at each other. Then the lead boy let out a groan. "Man, you missed De'Zane by an inch." he said. Ranger raised an eyebrow. "Just tell him out flat, Jerry." the girl said. The lead boy, Jerry, looked up at Ranger. "Man, the white haired woman is De'Zane. Leyko De'Zane."

END

Author Note:

For some reason I just have a feeling that the Merry Men would laugh behind Ranger's back about the interest he has in Le. But that's just my impression. I know I would laugh at him. Anyway please enjoy and review. I'll have the next chapter done soon. Bye!


	4. Stunning Departure

Author Note:

Hey everyone. I'm starting to feel a little more confident with this story so I'm trying hard. Needless to say, I write a lot when I'm nervous or bored, which I'm both right now. So here's the new chapter for you. I do not own the Stephanie Plum novels.

Chapter 4 Stunning Departure

Ranger should have seen this coming. All signs pointed to Le being De'Zane. The moment he got back to the hotel he plugged Le's full name into some of his search engines. Nothing came back. So he switched tactics and called in a favor.

He would have to wait for a response but he was bound to get something. He had to admit though…he was slightly angry. The whole time she had been toying with him. He didn't know whether to be annoyed at her for not telling him she was De'Zane, or annoyed at himself for not realizing it.

Ranger sat back to wait. Leyko De'Zane….the name sounded Greek instead of Italian. But Le didn't look completely Greek. He admit she had some of the features but she didn't look completely Greek. At least one of her parents was Greek.

He could be right on the second half and she had some Russian in her. But that all took the back seat to his real concerns. Why had Le bolted out the door after Hucatti. Hucatti wasn't an FTA, so it wasn't like she was trying to collect a bounty. Maybe it was something personal.

A beep on his computer had Ranger turning back to the screen. His source had e-mailed him back. There was a file connected and Ranger opened it. The first thing he saw was a picture of a younger Le, about five or six, with two adults behind her.

One was a young with long white-blond hair and blue eyes. The other was a man who was all dark. Dark tanned skin, black hair, and black eyes. Below it was a record…a military record! It listed two people, Yepaki Pharlos and his wife Elona Pharlos. Yepaki was Greek while his wife was Russian.

According to the file both worked for a special military branch in Greece that handled everything from hacking and information to spy work and assassination. They had only one child. A little girl name Leyko Skotadi De'Zane, named for her grandmother Tia De'Zane.

They lived in a small community that raised it's children to walk in their parents footsteps in the military branch. Basically they were raising child assassins and spies. There was another report attached reporting the deaths of Yepaki and Elona. The two were killed on a job, leaving their five year old daughter in the care of her grandmother who also died when Le was ten.

After that…there was nothing. The reports ended. Kind of like Le disappeared off the face of the earth. Meaning that Le, probably had bailed. She got out and left while she could. But she took all of the skills taught to her, with her and now she was in Dallas possibly hunting own the same man Ranger was.

Ranger leaned back pressing his fingers to his eyes. Le was a born and bred killer. She had been trained basically from birth to hunt and kill humans like they were game. That was where she got her dog tags from.

Why hadn't he seen it? After so long among other killers when he was in the military, he should have been able to pick it up. Now though…he had to face Le…no Leyko. He needed to find out what her connection to Hucatti was. Tomorrow he would have to pay her warehouse yard a visit.

-0-0-0-0-

Ranger was a man on a mission today. He pulled up, with Tank on his heels, at the plaza and headed past the group of kids. He stopped long enough to look at them. "She's down there?" he asked pointing towards the street.

All of the kids nodded. Ranger turned and continued on. He reached the warehouse yard as Leyko was leaving it. He paused, seeing her. Her left arm and shoulder were wrapped in bandages that vanished under the black tank top she was wearing.

It looked like the bandages wrapped around her chest and neck too. There was a bruise spreading up the left side of her jaw and her left cheek and there was a cut with butterfly stitches at the corner of her left eye. She looked like hell.

She looked up at Ranger as he stared at her. "Oh, hey its Robin Hood." she greeted. "What happened?" Ranger asked. "I was clipped by a car. Nasty affair. Thankfully nothing was broken." she replied idly as if she got hit by cars every day. Clipped by a car?…..Hucatti. Had to be. And she acted like it was normal!

"Sorry to run out so suddenly last night. I had business to attend to." Leyko told him. She shrugged as if it didn't really matter. But it did. It was best to just cut to the chase and get it over with. "Leyko Skotadi De'Zane." he said slowly pronouncing the names. Leyko paused. It was like she froze on the spot. Ranger didn't think she was even breathing.

Slowly her eyes raised to his. There was no denial in her eyes and she wasn't voicing any either. She wasn't going to try to deny it. Instead she heaved a sigh. "Jerry told you didn't he. The kid really does have a mouth on him. Good kid, big mouth." she remarked shaking her head.

"What's your connection to Hucatti?" Ranger asked. Leyko looked at him again. She stared at him for the longest before taking a deep breath. Ranger knew what she was going to do before she did it. And damn if he didn't curse her fast reflexes.

Leyko turned on her heel and ran. She ran! Really? As if Ranger didn't have practice with this already. Ranger bolted after her, Tank on his heels as they followed her farther down the street, around a corner, and….nothing.

Ranger and Tank found themselves in an empty, dead end alley, with no doors. The other end of the alley was blocked off by a third building. There was no where to hide and no where to go from there but Leyko had defiantly turned down the alley and was gone. Where could she had possibly gone too?

A whistle from above drew Ranger's and Tank's attention to a window three stories up. Half way up to the window was a fire escape ladder. If she could jump high enough she could have used that to scale the wall and in through the open window. How she did jump high enough was still a question to be answered. She was leaning on the windowsill looking down at him.

"I'm not going to get into a cross country running match with you, Ranger. Your legs are longer. I would lose. Not to mention that I'm injured and I don't really feel like getting tackled from behind by you or your brick wall of a friend there. He'd crush me for sure." she called down to him.

Ranger looked at Tank and then back up at her. She had a point. "Just tell me your connection to Hucatti." Ranger told her. "Can't do that. I didn't tell you who I was but I didn't lie to you. Believe me I have a good reason for all of this." she told him. Ranger raised an eyebrow. Didn't lie.

"What do you call it then, babe?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow up at her. Even from three stories up he could see the slight twitch in the corner of her left eye. Apparently she didn't like being called 'babe'. All the more reason to do it.

"Recreational truth stretching." she replied. Ranger's hands went to his hips. Now that was a load of bull. "Why did Hucatti bolt upon seeing you?" he tried again. "Who said he bolted because of me? It could have been because of you. Have you seen yourself, Robin Hood? Any man his size would be scared shitless at the sight of you." she replied.

This was getting to be slightly annoying though he couldn't help the small twitch of his lips at her last comment. She obviously wasn't going to tell him anything though. "Have fun trying to figure it out, Robin Hood." she remarked before vanishing back through the window. Next time he got the chance, Ranger was going to bug her so he could find her.

-0-0-0-0-

Usually Ranger wouldn't have bothered with someone connected to his target. Wouldn't have sweated over it except to check to see if they were hiding his target. They usually turned out to be family, spouses, or rivals. Something along those lines.

But here Ranger had a fifty something year old crime lord with a past in accepting hits on people as well as human trafficking and drug smuggling, connected to a twenty-one year old, former assassin who bailed on a super top secret military training program that was turning children into top class assassins, hackers, and spies.

He couldn't simply walk away from this and not try to find out what the connection between the two was. Clearly Leyko seemed to think she had a perfectly good reason for not telling him. But Ranger didn't care what her reasons were.

Ranger knew he wasn't likely to find her in her warehouse yard anymore. She would be hell bent on avoiding him at all cost now that he knew who she was. So that left one choice. He would have to track her down and corner her.

The best place to do that was her own home. She would expect anyone to find her there. His past experiences with assassins and spies was limited but he knew one thing…they all kept their homes well guarded, off the radar, and, above all, a secret. Just to see if she still stuck to that training even being in another country, Ranger had a source plug her name in with properity and lease records.

It came back that there was no Leyko De'Zane or Le De'Zane with any kind of lease, mortgage, or anything. There wasn't even a Leyko or Le Pharlos. Nothing. Not one single thing at all. Usually he got something back.

Ranger didn't know any other names she could possibly use either. He even had his source use her middle name and there was still no go. He would have to find some other way to find her address or try catching her on the streets.

That was if she didn't get hit by car drove by Hucatti again. Then there was finding Hucatti again. With all this information popping up Ranger was starting to get the feeling that if he found Leyko, he would find Hucatti. Tomorrow he would put his team on it.

-0-0-0-0-

When he had woken up that morning Ranger decided his best starting point was the warehouse yard. He was pretty sure she wouldn't go there again, until he was gone, but it was as good a place as any to start from. Maybe she lived in the area.

When he arrived at the plaza the kids were in their usual place. He guessed they all had class. Since he was just checking out the scene, he hadn't bothered to bring back up. He didn't really think he would need it against Leyko. Yes she was a trained killer but she was still smaller then him, lighter, and injured. He could bring her down if he had too and it wasn't as if anyone else really posed him a threat.

When he reached the warehouse yard he was shocked to find Leyko coming out of the building. He was about to head in the door when she headed out. Before she could react he grabbed her arms to keep her from reaching for the guns on her belt.

"Try to shoot me and we'll have a problem, babe." he told her. He saw the light twitch of her eye again. "We have a problem now. You don't know when to quit…with chasing me and the nickname." she replied. Ranger almost smiled. Almost. "I need information only you can give me. I'm not going to stop." he told her. The usually straight line of her mouth tugged down into a frown.

"Let go of me. I have plenty of goods reasons for not telling you a darn thing." she told him. Ranger shook his head no as he pulled her to him, wrapping one arm around her waist and removing her guns with the other. He checked the safety on both guns and tossed them aside to make sure she couldn't use them on him.

"What reasons would those be?" he asked. Leyko's frown deepened. "Do you really want to get me started? Because there's a lot. For one I haven't known you four days and that's not information I'm going to tell you if I knew you for forty years. For two you are starting to really get in too deep here. I don't think you know how deep either." she said.

She was on a rant. Ranger had a feeling that she didn't allow herself that many, because once she got going she really started tearing into him. Stephanie hadn't even torn into him like this. She really laid it on him and kept going, barely stopping for a single breath.

Ranger really need her to stop now. But he doubted if he spoke she would hear him. She was really on a roll now. He had one choice and truth be told…he would enjoy it. "Babe." he said before kissing her. It certainly shut her up.

Leyko's eyes went wide and she froze up, going stiff in his arms. Ranger lingered a little longer before he pulled back tasting mint and watermelon on his lips. At let she had shut up now. Leyko blinked at him for a moment before her eyes narrowed slightly.

"That was completely underhanded and you know it." she told him. "It got you to stop, didn't it?" he asked. Leyko huffed. "Yeah well I hope you enjoyed it because now I'm going to have to do this. And I know I'll enjoy it." she replied.

Before he could figure out what that meant she had the prongs of a stun gun against the skin of his arm and pushed go. It was official. He hated stun guns. First Stephanie in Hawaii and now Leyko. And it was one of the heavy duty stun guns too. The type that could drop a man a good two times his size.

He slumped forward against her, firmly stunned. Leyko eased him to the ground leaving him laying on his back staring up at the sky, unable to move any muscle in his body. He could hear Leyko's footstep as she reclaimed her guns and then she was in his line of vision, leaning over him.

"I really do hate to stun and leave, dear Ranger, but I'm moving office from here, I have a lot to do today, and I'm pretty sure when you regain movement you're not going to be too thrilled with me. I'll give one of you're boys a call and have them come pick you up. I really do wish you'd give this up. Stubborn men aren't attractive." she told him before vanishing from his sight.

He was going to get her. I was really going to get her. He hadn't even seen the stun gun on her. The thing wasn't easy to hide. Especially not with her wearing a stretchy black shirt too tight to hide anything under it and shorts that covered her fine but would not have hidden anything else. What was he going to have to do? Start strip searching her? The idea was appealing.

END

Author Note:

I'd like to stun gun Ranger. Just for the fun of it. He probably won't be too pleased when he gets up. But after Stephanie stun gunned him, I just had to put it in. It was funny to me. But that's me. So please, everyone, enjoy and review and I'll be back soon.


	5. Just Ask

Author Note:

Sorry it took me so long, everyone. I had quite a bit of work to do and I finally got the chapter done. So without any more lollygagging and what not, I give you the new chapter. Please do review and enjoy the chapter. I should have the next one ready soon.

Chapter 5 Just Ask

Ranger was sitting on the ground checking the spot on his arm where Leyko had tagged him, when Tank arrived with Lester in tow. "She actually tagged you!?" Lester asked looking at the spot. "And you _**let**_ her!?" he added.

"I didn't _**let**_ her. I was busy trying to get her to stop ranting." Ranger told him as he got to his feet. "She tagged me when I wasn't watching." he added, though he hated to admit it. He could see the laughter Lester was barely containing.

Any moment now he was going to start laughing. Ranger got to his feet, ignoring him. "She won't be coming back here." Ranger told Tank. "We still haven't found anything on any possible living locations." Tank replied.

"Why not ask those kids? They seem to know her." Lester suggested pointing back towards the spot in the plaza where Jerry and his friends sat. "They were there when we came by." Lester added. Ranger thought this over for a moment before moving back past them towards the plaza.

He found Jerry and his friends in their usual spot. All of them had their lunches and we're chatting. Jerry looked up as Ranger neared and groaned, setting his lunch aside to turn on the wall to look at him. Jerry looked a little annoyed but he also looked like he was about to laugh at this.

"Man why don't you just give up? You obviously are not going to get her at this rate. When a lady says no, she means no." Jerry said. Ranger could hear Lester snickering behind him. He would be giving Lester monitor duty for the next two weeks.

Ranger chose to ignore the 'lady says no' comment for a more pressing matter. "Do any of you know where she lives?" Ranger asked not bothering with small chat. Some boys let out a low wolf whistle before they stopped to think. All of the kids looked up at him and then at each other. "Huh….she's never told us." one boy, a kid name Alex, said. "Now that you bring it up, I don't think De'Zane's ever told anyone." Jerry remarked.

"Jag would know." This came from Jerry's girlfriends, Callie. She was a small, red haired girl sitting on the ground by Jerry's legs. Ranger turned to her. "Who's Jag?" he asked. "Jag, short for Jaguar. He's the leader of a local gang." Alex said since Callie had just taken a bite of a taco she had in hand.

"Good guys. Jag works with De'Zane to keep this area clear of thugs, weirdos, drugs, things like that. He's a great guy." Jerry said. "He comes around from time to time to make sure there isn't any other gangs or anything harassing us from the school." Alex added.

"If anyone knows anything about De'Zane's private life, he will. They're pretty buddy buddy." Callie said with a nod. Ranger glanced at Tank and Lester before looking back at the kids. "Where can I find him?" Ranger asked. "You know the bar and grill across Park Lane from the school?" Jerry asked pointing back towards the school. Ranger nodded. That was where he had last spotting Hucatti and where Leyko had possibly been hit with the car.

"He works out of a back office at the bar. He's pretty much always there." Alex told them. "Chris, who works the bar there, will take you to him." Jerry added. Ranger nodded and headed for his car. Tank and Lester followed him in their SUV. When Ranger entered the bar it was basically empty. Then again it was one in the afternoon on a Sunday. Not usually the most crowded of times.

Chris was behind the bar, polishing the glasses. He looked up and gave Ranger a professional smile as Ranger neared. "Can I help you?" Chris asked. Ranger stopped at the counter across from him. "I'm looking for someone named Jag. I need to talk to him about a Leyko De'Zane." Ranger told Chris.

Chris stopped and looked up at Ranger. He stared at Ranger for a moment before pulling his cell phone out. He held it to his ear until someone on the other end answered it. "There's someone here who wants to talk to you about Little Miss Le." Chris said into the phone. He listened to something said to him then hung up.

"Right this way." he told them raising up a section of the bar to let them behind it. Ranger and his two men followed him behind the bar and down a short hall. He paused at a door at the very end and knocked. "Send them in!" came a call. Chris opened the door and ushered them in. Ranger walked in, instantly glancing around.

The whole room scream flashy. High end, too. Everything clearly cost quite a bit of money. Gold, bright green…everything in the room was bright…except for the person behind the expensive, polished oak desk. The man had to be about six foot, three or four, was dark skinned, dark haired, and dark eyed. He wore a dark colored suit of high end design, with a bright green, silk tie and had his black hair sleeked back.

He was tall, lean, and well polished. He looked up from his paper work when Ranger sat across from him. "Well hello." he greeted flashing white teeth against dark skin. "I'm Jag, as you probably already guessed." he added. "Ranger." Ranger replied getting another smile. "You're going around askin about my little friend?" he asked. Ranger nodded. "Why?" Jag asked.

"Did you know she had been hit by a car the day before yesterday?" Ranger asked. This got Jag's attention. Jag sat up straight the smile fading from his face. "I saw her that day, for a late lunch. We meet almost every Friday here. I knew she stuck around to have a few drinks when I left. I haven't seen her since." Jag said seriously.

"A man I'm after tried to run her over with a car. At least that's what I believe. I didn't get a chance to ask her. All she told me was she had been hit." Ranger told him. Jag's eyes narrowed. "I would like to help because I think she can lead me to this man so I can get him off the streets before he causes even more danger to someone. But I can't if I can't find her." Ranger added. "She's in an alley off Park Lane Plaza." Jag replied.

"She moved from there." Tank replied. Jag looked at him a frown on his face. "And you want something from me?" Jag asked. "I need to know where she lives." Ranger said with a nod. Jag frowned. "I don't know. Leyko keeps those kinds of things to herself." Jag replied. Ranger was hoping for a little more but maybe he could still get something from this man.

"Do you know of any names besides her own that she might go by?" Ranger asked. Jag stared at Ranger, eyeing him closely. "She would kill me if she knew I was talking to someone about her. But if its to help her…." Jag started and trailed off for a moment. He leaned back and heaved a sigh. "There was one time when she answered her phone during our Friday lunch. She was speaking in Greek but I did catch a name." Jag told him.

Ranger raised one eyebrow. "Tia Duffmeyer. From what I can put together Tia was her grandmother and Duffmeyer was her mother's maiden name." Jag told him. Ranger looked at Tank who was already jotting down the name. Ranger thanked Jag and got to his feet. "She's not a bad kid you know." Jag said drawing Ranger's attention to him.

"I can see it. True, not a lot, but I can see that look in your eye. She's not a bad kid. She does everything for a reason and she does think of others when she does it. If she's caused you any trouble you be sure its all with reason. Don't be too mad with her." Jag told him.

"What all do you know about her?" Ranger asked. "A lot more then I should. I ain't got any more right to snoop in her life then you do. No one can help what their born into, though, Mr. Ranger. Little Le has done what she can to change that." Jag replied.

Ranger nodded. He thanked Jag again and left the way they had come. "Well?" Lester asked as he followed Ranger. "Plug that name in and see if there's anything you can find. When you find something report it back to me. She's connected to Hucatti some way and I need to know how." Ranger told Lester and Tank.

Both nodded, climbed into their SUV and left. Ranger followed in his Porsche. He was thinking over what Jag had told him. _'No one can help what their born into, though, Mr. Ranger.'_ Ranger knew that. No one could help how they were born but Leyko, from what he had been told, was trying to change it.

-0-0-0-0-

The first thing they got back from the new search was a phone number. A disposable cell with no GPS on it, so he couldn't track it. He was debating call it when his cell rung. The number on the screen showed blocked caller. Ranger had a pretty good idea on who it was and answered on the third ring. "You know if you wanted my number this bad, all you had to do was ask Robin Hood." came Leyko's voice from the other end.

Ranger glanced up at Tank who sat across from him. "You knew I had you're number, how?" he asked. "Oh please. Back hacking someone going through my files left and right, is the easiest thing in the world. Did you know I have it set up so that I know whenever my military file is opened." she replied. "I knew the moment your friend opened my file. Really, your military yourself. Be a bit more professional then this." she added.

Ranger had the strong urge to pull a Stephanie and roll his eyes but he didn't do that. Instead he leaned back in his seat. "Then you'll tell me your connection to Hucatti?" Ranger asked. There was a small snort from the other end of the line.

"You're kidding right? Just because you know about my past doesn't mean I'm just going to start spilling everything to you." she retorted. It was worth a try. "You're a smart man, Robin Hood. First one I've ever had to tag that's for sure. Usually it doesn't come to that. I must be getting rusty." she said. Yeah, he hadn't forgotten that little detail. He defiantly owed her for the tagging incident.

"I owe you for that." he told her. "Just be glad I didn't tag you where the sun don't shine." Leyko replied. He could hear the laughter in her voice. She was laughing at him. Yes he was grateful she hadn't tagged him there but he would have been even more grateful if she hadn't tagged him at all.

"I suppose next time I'll have to be more thorough." he remarked. There was a small laugh from the other end. "Robin Hood, unless you can poof yourself to wherever I am, there won't be a next time." she replied. "This would all stop if you would just-" Leyko cut Ranger off.

"Oh would you look at the time. How about you shove the comment and go have a drink with your Merry Men." she said. With that she hung up on him. She….hung up. Ranger stared at the phone. He didn't even like it when Stephanie hung up on him. Yeah….he was defiantly going to find Leyko.

END:

Author Note:

I know it's a bit short. I'm working on long chapters really I am. So for now I'll leave it at this and will get to work on the next chapter now. Please do enjoy the chapter and review. I will be back soon. Bye!


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